The present invention concerns cleaning arrangements in electrostatic copying machines operative for removing residual toner from an intermediate image carrier, e.g., the surface of a copying drum, to which such residual toner clings, such arrangements typically including means for loosening the residual toner from the intermediate image carrier and means for transporting the thusly removed toner to a residual-toner storage chamber. For example, the cleaning arrangement may be provided with a rotating bar of polygonal cross section located at the inlet into the residual-toner storage chamber, serving to transport the removed residual toner into the storage chamber, and with a wipe-off element located between the rotating bar and a wall of the storage chamber and serving to close off the latter while simultaneously being resiliently pressed against the rotating bar and serving to wipe off residual toner clinging to the rotating bar.
A cleaning arrangement of this type is disclosed, for example in Federal Republic of Germany published patent application DE-OS 26 13 235. In the system of that patent, the residual toner is conveyed into a container which, as soon as it becomes full, must be removed from the machine, emptied, and then once more mounted in operative position within the copying machine. The emptying of the toner-filled container is a rather unpleasant task for the attendant of such a machine, because the attendant can so easily become soiled by the toner in the container. Also, the wastepaper basket, or the like, into which the toner-filled container is emptied necessarily becomes dirtied by toner in a manner difficult for subsequent cleaning, unless the attendant goes to the trouble of some special countermeasure each time the container is emptied, such as emptying the container into a plastic bag and then closing off such a bag before dumping it into the wastepaper basket, and so forth.